The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 14, 2002 - 7B Vols' Stallworth pulls name from draft pool KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - One day after announcing plans to forgo his senior season for the NFL draft, Ten- nessee receiver Donte Stallworth changed his mind, according to his mother. Donna Stallworth said her son told coach Phillip Fulmer of his desire to stay in school during a Friday meeting. "He just said it didn't feel right and that the coaches were looking into it to see if there was anything that could be done," Donna Stallworth told the Nashville newspaper, The Tennessean. Stallworth, a junior from Sacramen- to, Calif., has already submitted his paperwork to the NFL office for early entry into the draft, which makes the receiver's desire to return to Volunteer football a bit more complicated. NCAA rules say a college player Unranked 'M' netters turn heads at Classic By Albert Kim Daily Sports Writer If the Michigan women's tennis team was looking for a springboard into the dual match season, it found it this weekend at the Tribe Classic at William & Mary College in Williamsburg, Va. Although the Wolverines were the only unranked team among the invit- ed, they proved their merit on the court, posting a 12-4 overall singles record and recording four doubles wins, despite some lineup shuffling. "I think the weekend went well for us, we played some really tough matches," freshman Leanne Ruther- ford said. The other three teams at the Clas- sic may not have expected this kind of performance out of the Wolver- ines, considering the Wolverines played two sophomore and two freshmen in the top four singles spots. But No. 27 Louisiana State, No. 49 William & Mary, and No. 50 Penn State all lost three or more matches to Michigan. "We definitely felt that we should be ranked. We were either right in there splitting with the teams or dominating," junior Jen Duprez said. Yesterday, the Wolverines were able to get an early look at the Big Ten in the form of the Nittany Lions. Michigan once again dominated sin- gles play, taking all five matches against Penn State in straight sets. Although the Big Ten season is still weeks away, the Wolverines were still able to gain some confidence from their performance. "You go into the season, and you feel good about your team, but you don't know how you stack up against others," Duprez said. "So it was nice to see where we are, and how we compared (to Penn State)." Also impressive was the Wolver- ines' performance on Friday against Louisiana State, as Michigan took four of five singles matches from the Tigers and thoroughly dominated play. Then, yesterday the Wolverines took two out of three doubles match- es from Louisiana State also. "Everyone looked like they were playing pretty well," Duprez said. "People matched up well in all the matches." In terms of individual perform- ances, junior Joanne Musgrove, sophomore Kim Plaushines and Rutherford each finished undefeated in singles play. Also, freshman Michelle DaCosta was able to turn in a 2-1 performance. "I think everyone is going to have a huge part on our team, we're all strong singles and doubles players," Rutherford said. "We all play a huge role." WANT TO SIT COURTSIDE AT CAMERON r INDOOR STADIUM? JOIN DAILY SPOTS. MASS MEETINGS WILL TAKE PLACE a_ ., .. loses amateur status when he asks to be placed on the draft list of a professional athletic league - even if he asks to withdraw his name prior to the draft. Tennessee officials were checking Friday to see if the paperwork could be rescinded, the newspaper said. Malcolm McInnis, Tennessee's asso- ciate athletic director for compliance, said Saturday he had not been asked to check Stallworth's amateur status with the NCAA or request an appeal. "If there's an interest in that, it's something we'd look at,' he said. He didn't know if Stallworth's name had been placed on the official draft list, and he wasn't aware of any Ten- nessee player ever declaring for the draft and then asking for his eligibility to be reinstated. "I have never thought about that iftue because it's never come up," he said. Another key element is whether Stallworth has entered into any kind of agreement with an agent - a move that would also make him ineligible for another season of college ball. Donna Stallworth told The Ten- nessean Friday that her son had not signed with an agent. Fulmer on Saturday declined com- ment to The Associated Press, and Stallworth could not be reached. Stallworth and junior defensive tack- le Albert Haynesworth both announced their intentions to turn pro Thursday, submitting paperwork by Friday's 4 p.m. deadline. Freshman receiver Kel- ley Washington, however, said he is staying for another year. Tennessee quarterback Casey 4, Clausen said he knew his friend was having second thoughts when they ate lunch together Thursday afternoon. "There's just something that wasn't right about that whole deal," Clausen said. Stallworth missed three games early this season with a broken wrist but fin- ished the season with his best statistics yet. He had 41 catches for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns. In two games, he had three touchdown receptions. Stallworth's announcement on Thurs- day surprised some - including Ful- mer - who think his draft chances would be better next year. "I can only hope that his draft status is such that it justifies him passing on his senior year of college," Fulmer said in a statement released after Stall- worth's announcement. AP PHOTO Tennessee wideout Donte Stallworth wants to take his name out of the NFL draft. I f } !r i_.r b It used to be the end of a great night. It could soon be the start of a great day. 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